Seeds of the Future a Star Trek Pretoria adventure
by A wee Moose
Summary: Romulans created andriod, who killed her creators and escaped. Angel Unit 01 hunted down Glen Harkness, the only man with the knowledge about Data’s longevity codes and positronic self initiated upgrade system
1. Intro

_"Retribution and revenge cuts both ways." - Gene Roddenberry (1921 - 1991)_

"Our prime obligation to ourselves is to make the unknown known. We are on a journey to keep an appointment with whatever we are." - Gene Roddenberry

**Two days ago.  
Passing the 5th planet in the Trill system**

_Yeoman's log. I'm afraid trouble is brewing on this short voyage. Emzio doesn't appreciate the attention that the Admiral is giving his lady love, Nei._

Emzio walked up to Nei, who is by Gi Jip Koda at the helm. In an unheard dialogue, he gestured as if bowing. She responded with an attitude of exaggeratedly flattered shyness. Emzio watched suspiciously. Emzio drew his hand in a horizontal line at neck level.

_That was the final straw, Emzio stormed forward and decked Admiral Harkness. That was two days ago. Luckily he is a civilian, and technically the Admiral did go looking for trouble._

-/\-

**Planet: Risa**

On a typical warm day, 30 Celcius with the wind blowing kept the local environment comfortable.

Liz Archer, Mike Anderson, Alice and Stryker rematerialized in a moderate sized city on the North shore.

Stryker wore black swimming trunks, red vest with no sleeves, while Alice were dressed in a jade coloured swimsuit.

**Two hours later**

Stryker, Liz Archer, Mike Anderson and Alice were surrounded by nine other jumpers, about an hour before take off. They were about to get into their silver dropsuits.

Two female instructors, both of them, Andorians, looked at their class of students. The taller spoke first, "Listen up. I want everyone to have a good time. I just ask that everyone of you follow one very important rule. Just one simple rule."

The students all looked at her, she held their full attention now. The short one addressed them, "If you feel the need to vomit," She raised her voice for emphasis, "DON'T!"

Eleven people stared at her.

The tall one walked among the students. She looked at Alice, her bulging stomach. "Ma'am, you are pregnant. We cannot allow you to jump."

Alice argued with the Andorian, but the blue skinned woman stood her ground. Stryker and Alice told Liz and Mike you enjoy their jump and walked out of the training room, heading to the beach.

-/\-

Angel stared out from her balcony suite at the sunny beach. The place wasn't too crowded yet, but it was still early. Her penthouse (rented under a false name) was luxurious, but she didn't care that much. With her new organization taking shape (and the useless individuals weeded out) she was ready to begin her assignment. Frankly, when this job materialized, she had doubts. But with a little investigation, Angel was convinced this would be her finest work yet.

One of her lieutenants was standing by and she waived him over. He wore a nice suit, as she instructed. Angel refused to have her people looking like slobs. She said, "Any word yet?"  
"No ma'am," said the human. "The Admiral should be arriving shortly. I have people watching the hotel and monitoring all incoming space traffic."  
"Very well."  
"There is one thing though. A Starfleet vessel has arrived," he said.

"Oh?" asked Angel.

"But it doesn't appear to be transporting the Admiral. Must be some regular duty ship on shore leave."

"Have them watched anyway," she commanded. "And have my ship standing by. I anticipate a hasty departure."

"Yes ma'am," he said and hurried off.

Her newest captured ship was her favorite. The Klingons weren't too happy about having to part with a Vor'Cha class battle cruiser, but Angel simply had to have it. They put up quite a fight, though. But in the end, Klingons were more brutish thugs, and easily fooled.

Cain had entered the room and reported, "I've just received word. All our facilities are ready for action, as are the personnel."

"Good," she said. "It seems that the Admiral is running a little late, though."  
Her thoughts turned to her current task, taking care of Admiral Harkness. Her contractors had been quite specific about his fate. Elimination. Nothing fancy; just the standard termination. "Remember Cain, I want our very best people to capture him."

"Look," said Cain. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but I understood the job to be termination. So why exactly are we kidnapping him?"

"I hate the term 'kidnapping,'" she said. "It's so juvenile. 'Abduction' will work fine."

"Well whatever you call it, Starfleet's going to go nuts looking for him," warned Cain.

"They'll never pay ransom anyway."

Angel smiled. "I'm not to worried about Starfleet. Anyway, we're going to disguise the abduction. Harkness has information I want. Valuable information. You're human, Cain. Are you familiar with the works of Carl Jung?"

Cain sighed and looked bored. "No, Angel. I'm not."

She said, "A great thinker. For a human, anyway. Quite rational. And yet at times, he proposed the most preposterous theories," she said. "The notion of synchronicity for example. Totally illogical. Jung believed in a series of coincidences that all point in one direction. Take into accounts current events. A plague drives me off planet here to the Federation, and this job comes along, with the specific target being one Admiral Harkness." Angel looked as if deep in thought. "And the knowledge he carries could mean everything to me. All of these events, happening in sequence…mere coincidence? Or is there something more too it?"

Cain shrugged. "You know, I really don't have a clue Angel."

Angel gave him a smile. "Of course you don't. Such notions as fate and destiny are silly.

And yet, I would be quite foolish not to pursue them."

"Ok, so what does he know that's…"  
Angel interrupted. "Never you mind about that. Your concern is getting him to me, understand?"  
"Yes, that I understand," said Cain. "But what happens when you-know-who finds out he's not dead as instructed, but kidnap…I mean, abducted?"

Angel shook her head condescendingly. "They're not GOING to know, you colossal genius. Because, we're going to fake his assassination. To everyone else, he'll appear to be dead. Meanwhile, we'll abscond with Harkness to our secret base."  
She giggled. "Oh, doesn't that just sound DELICIOUS?"

-/\-

**Mike Anderson and Liz Archer Sky diving**

"I am really going to regret this !" Mike thought.

Dressed in a silverdrop suit, Mike was staring out the gaping jump-off port at the huge blue and white orb hanging in space before him -- and was frozen to the spot. His knees wouldn't work. "I hate heights. I really really hate heights."

Liz jumped out. Mike untensed near the jump port in preparation to back away from it. But the instructor, Maxine had other ideas. She waited for just the right moment, then put her foot on his behind and shoved him out of the shuttlecraft. He panicked, arms cart wheeling as he tried to grab something, anything to halt his descent.

After the initial shock and near 'heart attack', he had to admit that the experience is a blast. There he and Liz were, hanging over the planet in their own personal orbit. After nine minutes, his instruments informed him that his orbit was decaying.

They started their descent. Liz skimmed the atmosphere, sparks literally flying out from under her feet. She shrieked in delight from the thrill of it. Mike winced at the shriek, "Ouch, my head."

Liz was having fun, "Hey!" she said through the communicator. "There's really nothing to this!"

They fell, and fell, and fell for more than twenty minutes. Liz attempted to etch her name in the sky, using the smoke created from the friction before she'd drop below the safety zone.

The friction from his sheer falling speed created smoke as well. What followed turned a joyful ride into a frightening plunge. Somehow, his feet whipped out from under him, putting him into a backward tumble.

He remembered what to do from the simulation. He was able to halt the tumble, but did not have the strength to reposition his feet under himself. He was falling, backside first, towards the grassy plains below. Fortunately, the safety chute automatically deployed with a satisfying yank to his entire person. He knew now that he was going to be all right.

Liz's chute opened too, moments later. Little did she know, is that her suit had come dangerously close to failure, measured by the degree of charring on her 'backside.'

"How do you feel?" she asked him when he safely landed next to her on the grass prairie. The feet of their dropsuits were blackened, charred by the heat as they entered the atmosphere. His body-suit is charred, scorched, wisps of smoke still curling off it.

Mike shrugged as he pulled off his helmet, "I cannot feel my legs. In fact, I cannot feel anything. I am completely numb all around."

Their hands flew to their ears as a pair of sound shockwaves come from above. "Sonic boom!" Liz whooped. Mike simply slumped, content to sit on the ground where it is safe. _No more damn falling._

He looked up at her, "And worst of all is, I think I am still scared of heights."

Hours later..

Lying on the beach sunbathing, Liz and Mike are taking it easy. Mike leans over Liz smiling and looks at her.

"Now this is something I like, Sunbathing, an activity that doesn't mean heights!"

Liz cries out and tries to push him away from her view of the sun. "Mike, you are blocking the sun!" When he is out of her way she takes her sunglasses down and looks at him amused and teases with him. "Are you sure that you don't want to try the skydiving again?"

"No, I am sure…This is much better.." he replies without hesitating. She puts the sunglasses on and takes her place on the sun chair and says. "To bad. It is your lost.." 

Liz suddenly feels that something is wrong with Mike. She immediately ask. "What's wrong?"

Mike who had a, as she thought, a forced smile gave her a huge bear hug. He whispered. "We are being watched." Liz immediately froze as she looked into his eyes.

"Where?" She asked. He pretended to laugh as she had said something funny and then said quietly. "At six a clock. The woman in red."

Liz released her from his arms and took the sun cream in her hand. She says out loud. "I believe your back are in need of some sun cream." She sprays some sun cream on his back and looks at the direction where Mike told. He was right. At sic a clock she could see a red dressed woman suspicious watching them closely. When she saw that Liz was watching her she immediately looked down and pretended to read something. "Amateur!" Liz thought. She whispers to Mike. "Should we notify Stryker?" Mike replies as he gives her a smile. "You bet!"

-/\-

**McKinley Station – Sector 001**

_"Attention please. This is the final boarding call for flight 477, nonstop service to Olympia, Mars. All passengers please report to Gate 3A at this time. Final boarding, flight 477."_

Faceless in the crowd, sitting in one of the concourse's coffee shops with a raktajino and a plate of chocolate chip cookies, a woman wearing the uniform of a Starfleet medical officer sipped at her drink and watched the people go by. Near her elbow sat a PADD, this one carrying a travel authorization: "COLERIDGE/KAREN.LT SF1899 MCK / SFO 05-A."

On a busy Friday evening, McKinley Station resembled nothing so much as an old Earth airport. You couldn't step more than a meter in any direction without running into either a Starfleeter on business or a gaggle of vacationing civilians, the food was mediocre, the air stale and the noise level deafening. However, Karen preferred the bustle down here to the carefully manicured environment of the O-Club on the fourth level, which to her looked like a cross between a hotel bar and an attorney's waiting room.

_"Attention please. Would passenger Takeo Sakai, please answer a courtesy page at one of the green communications terminals. Passenger Sakai, you have a courtesy page at the green communications terminals."_

"Mommy, they have cookies! Want cookies!" a little boy shouted as his harried parents practically dragged their offspring toward the boarding gates.

The mother never broke stride. "No honey, we're going to be late, and then you won't get to see Aunt Shena and all your cousins..."

"Don't care! Want cookies! COOKIES, MOMMY!"

_"Attention please. This is flight 1899, nonstop service to San Francisco, Earth. We'd like to begin boarding with flag officers, Elite travelers and any other passengers who may need extra time boarding the shuttle. Flight 1899, now boarding at Gate 17."_

Karen looked at the chrono, hastily wrapped the two uneaten cookies in a napkin and ran after the family with the little cookie monster. "Excuse me, ma'am, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I won't be finishing my snack before my flight leaves. Your son is welcome to my cookies, if that's okay."

"Absolutely n--" the mother started to snap, but the man standing with them - father? uncle? in-law? cut her off. "Lady, you're a lifesaver. Thanks."

"See, isn't that nice, the Starfleet lady gave you her cookies. You say thank you," the mother ground out through clenched teeth, and the little boy responded with a mumble of "Thank you."

"Glad I could help," Karen said with a lopsided smile. "You three have a nice day."

As she walked back toward Gate 17, she could still hear the woman, now shrilly arguing with her companion. "David, what is the matter with you! You know he's not allowed to eat that junk! I swear to God, you're no better than a three-year-old yourself! If you didn't let him get his way all the time, we'd--"

Karen was still laughing when she got to the gate five minutes later.

-/\-

**Risa**

Gi Jip Koda jumped, startled, when he heard Admiral Harkness's voice. Then he looked around. "By the code! Mister Gi Jip Koda!" Harkness hollowed in his thick Scottish accent.

Gi Jip Koda appeared beside Harkness. "It appears, m'lad, that we've reached Risa."

"Yes sir."

"Relax lad. Get my gear ready and rest up. At first light, we're going for a hike in the Hydra Mashes."

-/\-

**25 kilometers off shore**

As he gently swam through the pure blue water. His wide yellow and black eyes scanning his surroundings. Wider then those of humans, for Edenians need to see in complete darkness, and the wider the eyes, the more light he could take in. There was no need to blink. His arms stretched out in front of him, his rubbery skin, the texture like that of a dolphin, allowed the water to smoothly pass over him. Less friction and more speed.

He looked up, Alice was swimming, wearing scuba gear. "Mmm, nice tail !" Stryker joked.

Alice scowled, "I heard that." she grinned. "Thank you."

Nearby, Stryker was talking to her earlier, a young elfin-looking girl with blue hair was swimming as well.

A few hours later….

Alice sat on the front steps of the beach house, enjoying the night air. Everyone had gone to bed hours before, but she had been unable to sleep so she had come outside.

She found this place enchanting. She had enjoyed being here, with her friends, far away from Starfleet. Everyone having a wonderful time together. Alice found herself wishing she could spend the rest of her time here, maybe not even return to the Pretoria.

"Penny," Rakurai Stryker said, stealing one of her lines.

Alice jumped, surprised at the touch, she looked, finding Stryker standing behind her. Alice was shocked, she realized that she forgot that he was creep around without making the slight sound.

"I was thinking how beautiful it is here. And that I wish I had more time to spend here, it's so peaceful." Alice told him.

He smiled, "Let's go for a walk."

**A few minutes later ...**  
The pair walked side by side on the white beach, fingers interlaced with each other, as lazy waves crashed against their bare feet.

Alice wore a casual, sleeveless, white dress, that fell down to her ankles. It was made of a soft, thin fabric, something he had never seen or felt before. The dress wrapped around her body, hugging her hips, very pregnant belly, and the curves of her breasts, it was held together by a single clasp at her left hip, the fabric flowing down the rest of her body. As she walked her legs would come out of hiding.

Alice had a sly grin on her face, Stryker wasn't wearing anything but dark grey pants that conformed to his body's every muscle and body part.

The sky began to grow a vague pink as the last day light started to fade, the warm air smelled sensuous as it blew around the couple. It had been a beautiful day, perfect for a relaxing stroll along the water's edge

"It looks like it may rain."

Alice smiled, "Let it rain, I always loved to play in the rain as a child. As long as the rain doesn't become to heavy, if you don't mind, I would like to continue our walk. I'll enjoy it, the warm air and the rain will feel wonderful."

"You look positively radiant." Stryker said.

Alice bowled Stryker over and kissed him. He devoured her mouth with an urgent hunger. Alice responded in full force, arms wrapped around his neck, fingers dancing over the back of his head, his body responding to her caresses. Pulling her closer, he kissed Alice's soft lips until he was dizzy, then kissed her some more.

Alice gave him a look, direct and feral. They did not notice Liz Archer and Mike approaching.

-/\-

Risa

As the day wore on, Angel decided to walk about on Risa and kill some time before her target arrived. It was more to get the feel for the area, but nonetheless, she left her room and made her way to a causal outdoor café. A few of her people took up discreet guardian positions, but otherwise left her alone. Angel watched people come and go, logging every one to memory and categorizing possible threats. A vast majority were none at all.  
A waiter took her order (ice water, just to blend in) and then went back to scanning.  
She heard a large person come up behind her. "Finally!" said the accented heavy voice. "After all this time, I have found you?"

Angel slowly turned and saw a heavyset Orion man standing there wearing a waiter's uniform. Quickly, the man sat down at her table and smiled. "Don't move. You are being covered." He was holding some kind of weapon under the table.

Angel was curious. "And you are?"  
"Klev. Klev Kavak. And you killed my brother. I am of course, here for vengeance."  
"Klev? Hmm," thought Angel. Naturally, she made the connection, but wasn't going to make this any easier for him. "Oh, Klev! Ah yes. Akin to the deceased Zev Kavak, I presume," she said in a friendly tone.

Klev chuckled. "How nice of you to remember. I wanted you to know first who it was who had killed you. Tracking you was no small task, I can assure. But finally! Here I sit!"

"Yes, there you sit," she said. "I must compliment you on your finding me, Klev. I make it a point to blend in to the background. That must have been quite some task indeed."

"It was worth it, cursed woman!" spat Klev. "But blood honor demanded it. I have devoted the last two years of my life for this one moment in time."

Angel shook her head. "I don't see why. I can promise you that Zev deserved to die."  
"Lies!" said Klev.  
"But he was a criminal," offered Angel.  
"He was my brother," said Klev.

"Yes I know that, dear. You mention that already. Listen, it was either me or him. It was a total survival situation. I only did what anyone else would do."  
"You planted a neutrino-dilithium bomb on his private yacht!" Klev said through a twisted face.

"Well I meant 'survival' in more of the long term sense," said Angel with a tiny grin. "But enough of that. Tell you what, Klev. I have other business here and have absolutely no time whatsoever to have a long drawn out war with you and your syndicate. So, why don't you just trot off and we can do this at another time? Honestly, any other time but now, and I'd be happy to oblige. But these days," she shrugged, "I'm simply swamped, all right dear heart?"

"Don't mock me," said Klev. "I have a dozen of my men here, all watching us. You have no chance. And don't even think about offering me money or anything else."

Angel saw his men. They were obvious. Actually, they resembled her own, but in cheaper suits that didn't fit well. Klev was a fashion-idiot. Had he no pride?  
"I offered you life, for now, and another chance later on. I can see you predictably chose to fight."  
"There will be no fight." Klev straightend. "No more talking. Time to die!"

"You stupid Orion slob," said Angel pitifully. "All this time, and you never even noticed that I deactivated your weapon."

She didn't, but of course Klev moved his hand under the table. Quickly, Angel grabbed his gun-toting wrist and snapped it back, breaking several bones. His hand, and weapon, were now pointing at his own fat belly. Klev yelled out in pain.  
"Oh don't make a scene!" she scolded him. "Now let go of the weapon," she prompted as she would a child.

Klev shouted, "Kill her! Kill her you idiots!" His men started to move in on them, and Angel's did as well. Her patience for Klev diminished, and she pulled the trigger for him. An orange beam pierced through him, and hit one of his men. Her men fired back, and a very large phaser battle ensued. What was once a quiet café on an average Risa street had now turned into a very violent criminal shoot-out. Angel was aware of the situation, and quickly withdrew. Her men were better shots, and the battle was soon over. Only the screams of shocked bystanders was heard, and the smoking bodies of Klev's gang lay in the café. 

In an unmarked aircar, Angel was furious. "Stupid, miserable, worthless Orion!" she said through clenched teeth. In a mirror, she checked her face to make sure there was no blood on it. "Of all the unfortunate timing! That fat swine had to make his move!"  
Cain was on a scrambled communicator and said, "All you all right?"  
"Of course I am!" she said. "But now the Federation will be all over the place. Ooh, if I could only kill him again I would!"  
"Should we cancel the op?" said Cain.

"No. It still goes. But move everyone," ordered Angel. Composing herself, she added, "We'll wait and see how this affects the Admiral's schedule. Then we'll alter the plan accordingly." A bit more annoyed, she said, "Has he even arrived yet?"   
"Actually, he has," said Cain.  
"About time. All right then. Keep a watch on him at all times. I'll meet up with you shortly."


	2. Chapter 2

**Starfleet Medical Headquarters  
Department of Medicine, Office of the Chief of Staff  
San Francisco, Earth**

"Lieutenant? Captain Chatterjee will see you now."

The COS' office was quiet and orderly, with lush beige carpets, wood furniture, carefully designed lighting, a carefully selected collection of art on the walls and soft pan-Asian music playing over recessed speakers. Two crewmen staffed the reception area. Under normal circumstances, a lowly AMO like herself never would have seen the inside of these premises, but the circumstances surrounding her presence here were anything but usual.

Two days before her scheduled leave, Kiya had called her into the CMO's office and dropped a bombshell: she was retiring from Starfleet and joining a civilian practice. The staff had thrown a going-away party her last night aboard, but Kiya's departure had left a gaping hole in the department in more ways than one: it left the responsibility for the entire 130-strong unit squarely on the shoulders of a lieutenant with just over eighteen months in grade. The regs called for that position to be filled by a lieutenant commander or better.

And if there was anything Captain Rajesh Chatterjee, MD was known for, he was a stickler for the regs.

"Thank you, Yeoman," Karen said, standing to walk toward the door. However, the young man behind the desk held up one hand. "Just a second..." With swift, economical motions, he straightened her pips and insignia and brushed some lint off her shoulder. "Captain's a mite nitpicky over uniform."

Karen gave a soft chuckle at that, wondering just how many wayward officers' uniforms the young crewman second class had neatened in his time here. "Thanks again."

/\

"I must say, this is most unusual, Lieutenant," the Chief of Staff said in lilting, musical tones, reading over the array of PADDs neatly lined on his desk. "You do not have anywhere near the rank or the time in grade to command an Eclipse-class department, yet your CO recommends that you be allowed to do so. Do you care to explain to me what I am supposed to do with this affair?"

"No sir, that wouldn't be my place to do so," Karen said deferentially, although by now she did have a very succinct explanation for what this pompous man could do with his affairs. He'd been going on in this vein for the past fifteen minutes, and she'd increasingly found herself biting her tongue. "I will accept any decision you make, pursuant to my CO's orders."

"And that is the crux of the matter, no?" Chatterjee said, tapping one aristocratic finger on the last of the PADDs, the one that must have contained Captain Stryker's recommendations. "I do not at present have a higher ranking officer that I can transfer to Pretoria to replace your CMO, and without a replacement it would be difficult to countermand your CO's orders, regardless of the regulations here." He sighed dramatically, reaching for another PADD. "I see no option but to allow you to continue as acting CMO until a higher ranked officer can fill the post."

_Score! Do you believe in miracles?_

"I am pleased to hear that, Sir," she said, smiling demurely. "Thank you."

"That will be all, Lieutenant. Dismissed."

Somehow, as she exited the office and headed out of the building, the California sunshine seemed a little brighter.

After a quick stop at the cargo depot to pick up her luggage, which had been stored from the shuttlecraft flight earlier, she headed for the campus transport facility. Another yeoman, this one a PO1, greeted her when she walked in. "Good afternoon, Lieutenant. How many, and what's your final destination?"

"One plus luggage, going to the Regional Transport Center, Bozeman."

"ID please, ma'am?"

Fumbling in her pants pocket, Karen produced her identity card, which had gotten more use in the last twelve hours than it had in the last two years.

The yeoman's fingers flew over her console, inputting coordinates and passenger data. "Next transport window is in ten minutes. You can wait here if you'd like."

"That's fine, thank you. What's the local time there, anyway?"

"1535, ma'am."

_Yeesh. No wonder I feel so giddy, I'm space-lagged as hell._

**Delta Bar Ranch  
Western Montana, Earth**

One transport, one change into civilian clothes, a groundcar rental and thirty minutes' drive later, Karen pulled into the driveway of a low, sprawling log home. Several other groundcars were already there, most civilian rentals, a few with Starfleet tags, and two all-terrain trucks. In the front, a handful of men were playing some kind of game involving throwing and running with an ovoid ball.

"Eh! Look vhat ze cat drags in!" Gunther Spitz shouted in his thick German accent, and the game stopped, as the guys ambled over with smiles, backslaps and handshakes. "Doc, how ya been?" Cross DeLena said, while Kalok looked on with the Vulcan equivalent of an ear-to-ear grin. "We are glad you could join us."

"Head on in and drop your gear, Karen," Marshall Witt said, smiling. "Ashleigh, Colleen and Kale are already here, and Saban's got the bar open. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks, si- ah, Marshall," she said, smiling. Already the tensions of the day were dissolving.

_Funny, that... I do feel right at home._

-/\-

**Risan Beach**

The sun shown down brightly on the pearl white sand of the beaches of Risa and many sun bathers and vacationers were enjoying the sun and the planet immensly. The only thing that stood out was a lone figure sitting on a chair working on a PADD still in uniform. A large lizard who seemed to not know how to relax.

A young girl walked up to him and Kretak looked up from his PADD to see her approach. she wore one of the famous Risan swim suits, but of course, as a Gorn, he could not understand why she would subject herself to such little clothing.

"You are Ensign Kretak?" she asked coming up to him.

The gorn nodded, but went back to work on his PADD.

"My name is Mary Orden, I'm an engineering crewmen on the USS Pretoria. If I may ask, sir, shouldn't you be relaxing?"

The Gorn looked up again at her and frowned. "I have no use to relax, Crewmen, I find laying on beaches and swimming in salt water useless when you have a ship to run."

She sat down indian style beside him and continued. "Oh, come on, sir. The nice warm air, the beautiful waves, the sand."

He continued to work on his PADD as he answered. "The water is cold, the sun is to hot, and I hate sand."

She grinned. "Then what are you doing out here? why aren't you on the Pretoria?"

Kretak sighed. "Captain Stryker believed i be more useful down here. He told me to enjoy myself. I can't disobey a superior officer, so I'm trying to enjoy myself."

"Enjoy yourself? that shouldn't be hard. See those pretty girls over there?" Mary said pointing to more girls getting out of the water. Kretak looked over in that direction and went back to his PADD.

"It may come as a suprise to you, Crewmen, but we Gorns consider Humans to be one of the uglier species in the Alpha quadrant. We cannot understand why the female of your species wishes to wear skimpy clothing...it is speculated among our scientists that it is to enhance what little physical charms they posess."

Mary laughed and stood. "Well, sir, then I see your fit for your job. if you ever feel like taking a swim, I'll be in the water."

Kretak watched her walk away and sighed. Humans, he'd never understand them and probably never will.

-/\-

**Alice and Stryker - Beach**

In the fading sunlight, Mike Anderson and Liz looked worried when they walked up to Alice and Stryker.

Liz drew a **5** on the sand. That meant they are being followed.

Stryker held a finger to his left temple. Liz shook her hand. That meant she is unable to read their minds.

Mike held out a PADD. The headline read "Violence rocks sleepy vacationers"  
On the PADD was the local news about a shoot out between Orions. Several fled the scene. Descriptions pending within the hour. Someone from the Risan Principal Office reported Starfleet seized a pair of Orion shuttles in orbit.

Stryker felt uneasy, but told them to go on with the plan. But he wondered who or what they were up against.

**2 hours later**

Liz and Alice made a campfire. It was clear that the two couples were getting tired. Time to head to bed soon.

Alice sighed as she took a seat next to her husband by the fire. Stryker kissed her, and placed an arm around his wife's shoulders, who leaned her head against his shoulder in turn. He looked at Alice, who looked as vibrant and cheerful as the day he first met her. Well, not entirely. Both Stryker and Alice had to safe guard secrets now. They often felt guilty because the events of the last few months are unresolved. No one knew what was going to happen if JAG shows up or summoned everyone involved.

-/\-

**Gi Jip Koda and Glen - Hotel Sunnyside**

Dawn came to Risa with a diffuse, milky light. Admiral Glen Harkness, tired after the long night of womanizing, ate well of sweet fruit and drank deeply of clear water.

"Sir ! The Marshes is home to a dangerous camouflaged urchin, quite capable of walking on land. Highly poisonious." Gi Jip Koda warned the Admiral as they got ready for a day long hike.

Adm. Glen in his usual loud Scotttish voice told the young Trill to stop being so cautious. "Besides m'lad. What could possibly go wrong ?"

Gi Jip Koda protested but the Admiral shut him up. "Let's go."

-/\-

**Delta Bar Ranch  
Western Montana, Earth**

Dawn broke over the prairie in a spectacular wash of reds, pinks and oranges, painting the trees and the distant snowcapped peaks in colors reminiscent of a child's watercolor. High overhead, a solitary hawk wheeled in the crisp air, perhaps searching for a tasty mouse, or just enjoying the stillness of the morning.

A lone human stood on the porch of the log ranch house, taking in the view. Most of the group had elected to sleep in, a few of them nursing hangovers from the night's revelry, but she had risen before the sun, completing the morning's meditation and a five-mile run while the ranch hands were rolling out to start their day's work.

The sharp scent of woodsmoke drifted into the air, and from inside, there was a sudden clatter of pots and pans, accompanied by a string of expletives. Her stomach growled loudly, making its needs clear.

With a smile, Karen turned around and headed back into the house. _I'll go see if Ashleigh needs help with breakfast..._

/\

Once inside, she couldn't repress a laugh. There was a pot of honest-to-God coffee brewing, bacon frying on the stove - her nose picked out the scent of pea meal - and the source of the swearing turned out to be Ashleigh fighting with a recalcitrant omelet. "You do realize that if you cook like that every morning, you're never going to be able to get rid of us?" she said, smiling.

"Oh, you might change your mind if you're overly fond of omelets. They're Marshall's favorite, but I never could make one worth a tinker's damn. Bloody things always stick and rip on me." Ashleigh sighed in frustration, finally getting the misshapen omelet to slide out of the pan and onto a nearby plate. "I don't suppose you have a magic trick for them...?"

"Not magic, just way too many years of practice. It's all about timing. Here, I'll run the omelet production - you sit down and take a break."

Ashleigh stared at Karen for just a second, and then let out a snort of laughter, pulling out one of the chairs at the counter. "If you can cook like that, I just might never let you leave. So, tell me: when did you find the time to become a short-order chef as well?"

"Home," Karen replied simply, adding a pat of butter to the hot pan, waiting for the foam to subside before pouring scrambled eggs and a splash of cream into the pan. "When I was little, my dad always used to eat the same breakfast: a two-egg omelet, sausage and kadik-germ porridge..." Off Ashleigh's confused look, she added, "Local grain, kind of like a cross between oats and barley. Makes the best oatmeal you've ever had. And yes, I brought some with me." After a minute, she expertly folded cheese, tomato and scallions into the bubbling egg mixture. "On any other world, that kind of diet would be a one-way ticket to the cardiac unit, but working outdoors in extreme cold weather, you can easily burn through four, five thousand kilocalories in a day..."

"So _that's_ how you keep your figure."

"That, and being able to dead-lift a Klingon. Enhanced musculature comes with the juiced-up metabolism to match." She slid the neatly folded omelet onto a plate, added bacon and toast, and handed it across the counter. "Bon appetit."

Ashleigh took a bite of the omelet, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my. I think I'm in love."

And there it was: the words hung in the air, the room silent except for the crackling of the pan. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I never should have said--"

Footsteps on the wood floors broke the moment, and Gunther Spitz and Colleen Palmer stumbled into the room, rubbing at their bleary eyes. Meska Kale dragged in behind them a few minutes later. "That will be the _last_ time you get me to drink Scotch, Gunther..."

"Ja, me too. Guten morgen, Ashleigh - is zat real coffee?"

"Coffee sounds wonderful. Good lord, I feel like I went ten rounds with a Pagh-wraith..."

Karen caught the other physician's eye, smiled across the counter. "It's all right. Another time."

-/\-

" The Mourning after "

**Hotel Room on the Beach, Risa**

A few hours later, Stryker was rubbing his eyes as he looked around the semi-dark room. The sun's first rays breaking over the horizon. His gaze moved from her peaceful face over her pregnant figure. The shirt she wore was white, and it reached to mid-thigh. From there, her legs stretched long and smooth and golden.

His eyes, seeing her, were the eyes of love. Her skin was like cinnamon, caramel, honey. Her form had its own lithe grace, its own subtle but definite musculature. She was sleeping deeply, and as always it caused a surge of protectiveness in him. She looked defiant and determined in her sleep and achingly beautiful. He wondered what she was dreaming about.

Stryker yawned and closed his eyes.

Stryker come to, stirred for nearby movement, and opened his eyes again. Alice yanked her fingers through her fiery red hair, which had long since fallen out of its braids. When her hair was down it reached almost to her waist. "Wild night, eh ?" Stryker commented. 

"Hey, I was a perfect lady last night. Uhhhh ..." Alice moaned.

"How much sleep did we get ?" Stryker asked her.

Alice shrugged. "Not enough I'll tell you that much. "

Stryker nodded in agreement. He felt miserably tired, not rested at all. It was as if he had not slept at all. Still, he knew that he had slept some. "I just woke up, " she answered, giving up on her hair, tossing it over her shoulder dejectedly.

"Where is Liz and Mike ?"

"I do not know, " Alice said looking around.

"Stryker, go get me a drink. Something fruity in a big glass." cooed Alice. "Or else ..."  
"Or else what ?" Stryker replied, sarcastically. Alice made a face and rolled over to punch Stryker on the shoulder.

"Get moving ... " Alice playfully warned.

"The abuse I take, " Stryker grinned as he got up, rubbing his 'sore' shoulder. He walked to the far side of the room and pressed a button to open the closet. Much to his surprise, Mike and Liz come tumbling out.

"I did not know there was the make out room in here." Alice burst out laughing as she watched the couple turn two very different shades of red.

-/\-

**Hotel Room on the Beach, Risa**

Mike Anderson, Liz Archer, Alice Brangwin and Rakurai Stryker ate quickly. They had access to Admiral Glen's PADD and knew that he was up to today.

Alice had a bad case of morning sickness and when she was able, Alice was helping the others get ready. Stryker summoned Ensign Kretak to join them.

In the meanwhile, Liz and Mike were disguising themselves as Bajorans. Liz dyed her hair colour to gold while Mike now had black hair.

Stryker and Kretak was not able to disguise their unique features, but were to stand by with a portable transporter and Buzz rifles. A 22nd century weapon it merely stuns, but the weapon's discharge is invisible and barely even makes a sound. Given the situation requires stealth, Phasers and Disruptors are way too noisy.

Liz whispered to Stryker, "I am scared."

He whispered back to her, "I am scared too. I have this a prickling sensation across my spine... sometimes I think I hear voices I can not properly understand."

"Then this is it, " Mike punched his fist into his open palm. "I can feel the adrenalin rush already."

"Let's do it." Stryker commanded, the familiar pre-battle calm descending over him like a shroud.

Liz smiled uneasily, "More of a stomach turning sensation if you ask me."

"Be careful Liz." Alice said.

"You too." she replied with a weak smile.

Alice double-checked the transporter's settings. She set it to energize on a delayed timer, "Ten, nine, eight ... "

-/\-

**Gi Jip Koda and Glen - The Hydra Marshes**

The young and overstressed Trill and Admiral Glen were dressing in hiking gear and a backpack containing a water recycler/purifier, a communicator and a PADD with maps of the area.

They walked along trial 27-46, 15 kilometers in length. A flowery scent hang in the air.

-/\-

**Hydra Marshes**

Through the magnifiers, Angel's men could see their target through the swamp. "What about the others? We had no orders about them."  
Cain said, "Forget about them. Remember," he told the sniper, "your shot has to be perfectly timed."  
The Andorian nodded. He was recruited from an elite mercenary squad, as were most of Angel's men. The squad was camouflaged, and hunkered down in the swampy grasses.  
The sniper would fire a tiny projectile into the Admiral's neck, and he would instantly be beamed away. The transporter signal would be scrambled, coded, and routed all over Risa before ending up on their ship. A split second after that, a large explosion would rock the area, seeming to incinerate all in the Admiral's group. Fake remains would be beamed in place, matching his DNA.  
"Get ready," said Cain.  
"I have him," said the Andorian. "Anytime you're ready."

"Now! Fire!"

The sniper fired, and instantly there was a massive explosion

-/\-

**Delta Bar Ranch  
Western Montana, Earth**

After the breakfast dishes were cleared away, the group made plans for the day. Ashleigh, Colleen, DeLena and Saban were going into town shopping, Gunther and Marshall had planned a horseback ride, and Kalok had simply opted to stay in the house and read. Karen had thought about joining the riders, but in the end decided on a solo day-hike.

She had just walked out the door when Marshall stopped her. "Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Of course. What's up?" Her heart sank - a jealous Marshall Witt was not a pretty sight - but there was no anger in the former captain's face as they walked out toward the corrals.

"Thanks. Come on, you can help me saddle up the horses." They walked into the tack barn, the rich scents of oiled leather and horses thick in the air. A long pause ensued before Marshall spoke. "I don't know if you know this or not, but I do keep in touch with a few 'colleagues' at Starfleet," he said. "Mostly minor stuff, what's going on with you guys, and so forth. I did, however, get a very disturbing message a week or so ago from an old friend at Fleet Intel."

"Such as?"

"David Sorenson escaped from the Romulan penal colony at Erinye V three weeks ago."

Karen swore softly. David Sorenson was Ashleigh's ex-husband and, up until a group of sharp-eyed medical officers from the Exeter had thought to order a DNA study, Brandon's legal father as well. In addition to being an abusive, sadistic excuse for a sapient life-form - his predations had left Ashleigh with an astounding set of scars and a badly damaged left eye, and Brandon with permanent heart and lung damage - he had also been a Romulan double agent, working for a terrorist faction of the Tal' Shiar bent on establishing a new Romulan order. After a failed coup, which the Exeter had been instrumental in stopping, Sorenson had been convicted of high treason by both the Romulans and the Federation and sentenced to life at hard labor. At least, until now.

"Do Ashleigh and Brandon know?"

Marshall shook his head. "I can't bring myself to tell them."

"So where do I come into this?"

"My sources have tracked him to the Sigma Draconis system."

The pieces fell into place. Karen swore again. Softly she said, "Do you know what you're asking me?"

"Listen Karen, I know this is tough for you. I'm only asking you as a friend. You're not comfortable with it, say the word and this conversation never happened. I'm asking you because one, I can't go myself; two, you know the place better than anyone; and three, I trust you, and I know you love them as much as I do." Off her astounded look, Marshall smiled lopsidedly, a roguish twinkle in his eyes. "Of course I know. I also know you're the only man I'd trust my wife to."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Marshall, that's got to be the most insulting compliment I've ever received. But thank you anyway." Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes. "It'll be taken care of. I promise that."

"Thank you. I won't forget it." Marshall handed her two blankets and bridles, hoisting a pair of saddles over his shoulders, and they walked back to the corral, where a chestnut gelding and a cremello mare were standing. "I have to ask you a personal one. Don't answer if you don't want..."

"Hah. Considering what I just agreed to, you're entitled to a few personal questions."

"When did it happen for you? About Ashleigh, I mean?"

Karen paused for a moment, thinking. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet, and there was a soft smile on her face. "I'd only been on the Ex for a month or so, and it was during the Q Continuum incident, when we got thrown into the Normandy conflict. I already had a lot of respect for Ashleigh, I'd seen what a great doc she was, but I never saw the human side until then... I watched her go toe-to-toe with the galaxy's most omnipotent being to get her son back, and I realized there wasn't anything I wouldn't do for her." She straightened the blanket on the horse's back, still smiling. "That was what did it."

"That's pretty good." Marshall finished cinching the girth on the gelding's saddle, looked up and smiled, the subject closed. "Anyway. You know, you're still welcome to ride with us."

"Thanks, but I figure I'll go exploring on my own a little. Besides, I seem to do better when I'm on my own two feet."

"Okay, then. Dinner's at seven, and we're doing Italian Night..."

"Wouldn't miss it. I can't wait to see Chief DeLena in the kitchen."

Marshall laughed as he swung into the saddle. "See you later."

A few moments later, Karen headed off across the prairie. Her calm features spoke not a word to the battle of thoughts within.

-/\-

**Kretak - Hotel Room on the Beach, Risa**

Alice was running to the bathroom and back for the last twentyfive minutes, getting hit hard with morning sickness, and then complaining about weird food cravings.

Kretak and Stryker was preparing for any surprise attack on Admiral Glen. They were clad in Edenian combat armor, their outfit completed by two arm bracers and a Laconian helmet laying next to the portable transporter. The armor was odd in appearance, it looks like melted plastic, many shades of brown and black.

Underneath, they wore a form fitting metallic-blue body suit. The suit's material, while texture wise was close to rubber, was actually organic in nature, and had pores which would open if the environment got too warm, or close if it got too cold.

"How are you getting along with people onboard Pretoria?" Stryker asked Kretak. "Are you enjoying this mini-vacation ?"

Kretak had finished with his armor and he looked over to his superior officer. "I am getting along fine with the crew. They do their job and I do mine. The vacation? Well, it seems to get in the way of my work."

Alice asked Kretak, "I have always been curious about the Gorn homeworld. Your culture. Or more specifically, I suppose, does Gorn females really lay eggs ?"

Kretak looked at the female human surprised at her question, but decided to answer. She was an alien and was unsure of other planets. "Yes, that is quite true.  
We use a special Incubation area of the house to keep them warm so the mother doesn't have to be with them all the time. The Eggs hatch in 5 months."

"Ensign, have you heard about the Orion shootout yesterday ?" Stryker asked Kretak

"Vague rumors, sir."

-/\-

**Moments before..**

Liz, and Mike, Alice where materialized nearby the Admiral's position. He and his Trill yeoman was sitting at a tiny outdoor restaurant. There were 9 tables in total, enough seating for 27 people.

Liz looked around and tried to melt into the environment. A hard task to do with a golden hair, she seemed to get everyone's attention! Liz smiled and continued her instructions, to look for anything strange. She caught sight of the admiral who was walking, about 50 meters straight ahead of her.

The hiking trials were quite busy, with many people enjoying nature, the sights and the smells.

She was in a short eye contact with Mike. He gave her a short signal with his eyes of recognizing. She could feel that he felt pity for her because of her choice of hair colour. He had also noticed that some younger people were pointing at her. As she took a harder grab in her concealed Buzz gun in her handbag she continued her search for anything strange. Suddenly a man went straight to her with a huge smile on his face. She could feel that he was attracted to her and that he would proberly try to get her attention. She didn't know what do next so she pretended to read a poster very closely. A young man in his twenties approached her. 

"Hello there beautiful, nice day don't you think? " he says confident.

Liz turns to the young man and looks behind him as she talks. "Look, I am not interested. I don't think you would appreciate getting embarrassed when I have knocked you down. So let's make this simple. You will go you way and then nothing happen." Liz replies in a warning tone.

He took a quick step back with a surprised gesture and says. "Hey, so you are a tough girl. I like!" Liz couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked up to her side with an angry look. _I don't have time for this nonsense._ At that moment she gets sight of a possible sniper. She takes drastic measures. She pulls him closer to her and gives him a big kiss. She then reaches her arms around him in a hug and taps on her secret communicator attached on her bracelet.

She says straight into the communicator. "Listen all, a possible sniper at seven a clock. "

The young man was still of confusion started to returning the hug. She liberates herself from his hug and gives him a hard slap on his face. And then moves away with her eyes on the sniper. She rans as fast as she could straight to the Admiral. But the few seconds before she reached him, he was gone.

She could feel a hand on her shoulder and saw that it was Mike. Mike had his scanner active and was scanning the area. He looked up with a surprised face and was shouting something out loud.

But there was suddenly a huge explosion, so she couldn't hear what he was saying. In the same time she could feel that she was flying through the air. At this moment she reached for her portable transporter button.

-/\-

**Hotel Room on the Beach, Risa**

"It is strange to have any kind of violence on a planet like this. The local police force is only 390 officers, and you typically have more than a million vacationers here." Alice said thoughtfully.

"The last bit of excitement that Risa had, was when then old man and his clone flooded half of Risa, about 14 years ago."

The Comm line become active. **"Listen all, a possible sniper at seven a clock."**

"That was Liz !" Alice said alarmed.

Liz and Mike rematerialized a few seconds later. Liz was flat on her back, on the transporter pad. Both Mike and Liz's Bajoran outfits showed evidence of heat and flame.

Mike was Liz's side instantly, he looked up at Stryker, "Explosion !"

"Are you hurt ?" Stryker asked, urgently. 

"I do not think so sir." Liz answered. Mike helped her up carefully. Heading the wash room.

Alice was at the controls. Kretak and Stryker put on their helmets, standing on the transporter pad. Stryker then nodded to her.

The Edenian and Gorn rematerialized, arriving Klingon style, phasers drawn, and facing outwards.

Around them was evidence of an explosion. Charred seats and tables. And flesh.

Kretak is the Pretoria's science officer, and best suited for scanning, while Stryker moved around, aiming his rifle at anything that moved.

"I found DNA ..." Kretak started. "Trill, Vellorian, Sprite, Andorian and Human."

Stryker felt disbelief. Everything spun out of control in the blink of an eye. He started to mentally analyse this incident. "This is somehow connected to yesterday's Orion shoot out. Whomever did this is not reckless or careless ..."

"A professional hit." Kretak added. "The work of mercenaries. Leave no evidence of any kind."

"I wish we could call the Pretoria or have it in orbit." Stryker admitted. But as it stood, there was no starship nor starbase in orbit.

Stryker felt defeated. He decided that he and Kretak will stay at this scene for 15 minutes. Then return to the hotel and contact Starfleet to tell them the bad news.

-/\-

"The subject is aboard, as is all personnel," reported a helmsman. Angel, dressed in a black leather suit, turned in her throne-like command chair. "Very good. Engage cloaking device and break orbit. Set course for Home Base," she ordered. The battle cruiser disappeared from Risa, and went into warp.  
"I think I'll check on our guest," she said.

She took her time to the holding cell where Harkness was staying. He was under heavy guard. Cain was there, and Angel asked, "Was he injured?"  
"Nothing serious. The precision was excellent," said Cain. "Everyone did a splendid job."  
"Stop fishing for complements," said Angel. She regarded the human in the cell. "I want information from him, so ensure that no harm comes to him. Make him comfortable, and give him everything within reason. Once we reach our base, then the fun will begin," she said with a smile.

**Delta Bar Ranch  
Western Montana, Earth**

The evening's activities had swung into full gear at the ranch house. Saban was running the bar, as usual, and DeLena and Kalok had staged a "Marine invasion" of the kitchen. Judging by the aromas of garlic, peppers and tomatoes wafting from within, the assault team's efforts were proving successful.

"So here we're stuck on this plague of a planet, we'd just about run out of antivirals, and this little political flack gets up in my face..." Colleen was saying, when Brandon walked over and tapped Karen on the shoulder. "Doc, there's a call for you. It's on the secure line in Dad's office."

_Secure line? That can't be good._ "Thanks, Brandon. Be right there."

The Starfleet seal was blinking on the screen as she sat down in front of the terminal. After a moment, the screen flashed over, displaying "SECURE CONNECTION ESTABLISHED," and a moment later, Captain Stryker appeared on the screen.

"Doctor, I apologize for disturbing you on leave, but we've had a situation here. Vice Admiral Harkness was just assassinated in a bar here on Risa, and we think it may be the work of terrorists..."

All the blood drained from her face. "What...?"

"As a result, I've had to cancel everyone's shore leave. The Pretoria is currently dry-docked at Starbase 375, and the crew is shipping out now. We're sailing in 72 hours."

"Understood. I'll be there, sir."

"See you soon, Doctor. Stryker out."

Karen closed the comms screen and opened a new link to Starfleet Logistics, quickly accessing the travel requisitions department. A few minutes' search gave her the travel data she was looking for.

As fate would have it, the fastest passage to Starbase 375 would trans-ship at Sigma Draconis IV. And layover there for 24 hours.

_Well, we can't control the workings of the universe, only how we react to them..._

She finished booking the trip and headed to her room to start packing.

-/\-

**Blast Site **

Kretak picked himself through the debris of the Blast zone scanning with his tri-corder and eyeing out anything that was suspicious. He had left Stryker behind as he walked and then his eyes picked up something in a collapsed wall area.

Aiming his tri-corder in the direction, Kretak spun to Stryker. "I think I have a survivor sir!"

Kretak rushed over and the footsteps of his captain right behind him. The massive Gorn grabbed ahold of the fallen Duranium and Concrete and with a heave, brought the slab to a vertical position. Stryker immediatly crawled under and soon dragged out a form.

The Gorn set down the slab again and knelt beside the person in Strykers arms. He was already administering First aid.

"Do you know this person?" Kretak asked.

-/\-

**Blast Site**

The Edenian was angry at himself. He noticed for the first time that he is starting to forget First Aid. But as it was, luckily for Stryker and the young Trill, he appeared to be in stable condition. A miracle he's still alive.

Stryker studied the tricorder carefully. "Changes are, this is the Admiral's Personal Assistant, Gi Jip Koda."

-/\-

**Unknown location**

_Unfamiliar ceiling,_ Admiral Glen thought looking up. His eyelids felt heavy. He remember something about his mother talking to him. _Strange. I am not hungry, yet I do not have remember eating anything._

He blinked a few times, making a half descent attempt to gather his thoughts. iI died. But now I am alive again. Why ? Why did someone revive me ? No, wait. There was ... a sharp pain in my neck. Then what happened ?

He found himself seated in a peculiar chair. The chair was doing something to him; he couldn't move. His arms lay on the armrests, but he couldn't lift them, the same could be said for his legs.

In front of him appeared to be a young Human woman, powder white skin, short platinum blonde hair. Light gray eyes. She was wearing purple clothing suitable for cool tempatures. After seeing that, the Admiral stopped caring where he was.

He stared at her breasts and wolf whistled. "Damn lady, you look hot."

"I know," said Angel without smiling. _Another stupid man to deal with_. She hated most organic males. "And you look like a man in a deadly situation right now. You could save yourself an immense amount of trouble by cooperating. You might even find it rewarding." She smiled demurely at him.

-/\-

3 Hours since the Blast.

**Blast Site**

The young Trill turned out to be someone else, called Yanas. The local crime lab found Gi Jip Koda's melted DNA a few minutes ago.

His commbadge beeped. "Bridge to Captain Stryker."

**"Stryker here."**

/\ "Captain. A pair of Romulan ships on Long range sensors, heading towards Risa, running in cloaked mode. Both are Vereleus class Warbirds."

**"Heavy Battlecruiser."** Stryker said, feeling somewhat confused. _What the hell is going on ?_

/\ "Orders sir ?" Belldandy asked.

**"I do not kn--"** Stryker paused. **"Operational status."**

/\ "Engines offline. Cold restart scheduled in six hours. Thrusters can be activated in about 5 minutes."

**"Start close orbit as soon as possible. I need a detailed scan of the surface and underground. Keep an open comlink and inform me of any surprises, potential or otherwise."**

"Stryker to Ensign Archer ...

-/\-

**USS Pretoria  
18 hours later**

"Doctor, welcome back," the triage nurse on duty said as Karen strode into Sickbay. "We thought you wouldn't be aboard till tomorrow...?"

"Caught an earlier transport," Karen replied offhandedly. Which was true, if only half the story. "What've we got?"

"One inpatient, a survivor from the assassination. Male Trill civilian, host body's about twenty years old. Blast trauma and the usual consequences. Captain ordered him into protective custody."

"This his chart? All right, I'll take a look at him."

"So how was your leave?" the nurse asked.

Karen stopped in the entryway, and only a very skilled observer would have seen the pain in her eyes. "It was good... I got a lot done. Thanks for asking."

-/\-

**Unknown location**

Admiral Glen Harkness. The man known across the Federation and beyond for his _womanly exploits_ said to put the 23rd century legend, James T Kirk to shame.

But right now he was in deep deep trouble. The woman in front of him, proberly human was beautiful to him. He thought again, almost of nothing but sex. Now with the pale skinned woman in front of him. But he also felt the radiance of a Hunter. A trapdoor spider. At any time now, ready to jump out and kill.

Glen lost his voice for half a minute then said, "What --- What do want ?"

-/\-

"I want you to be silent!" Angel hissed. "Questions will come later. Followed by your answers, if you have any survival instinct at all. Until then, behave yourself. You are no longer an Admiral. You are NOTHING."

Angel walked out of the cell and turned around, giving him a smile as if everything was all right again. "Things can go quite smoothly, if you cooperate. We'll be arriving at my home shortly. Get some sleep, if you can." 

"Spare me your platitudes" Glen spat back.

Angel smiled, "Very well. You have some information I require." 

"I will tell you nothing!"

"Excellent." Angel grinned, motioned to Cain "Prepare the extraction device."

The metal slab Glen was secured to, was lowered. A jointed arm moved, inserting a probe into his neck, once inside moving towards his brain.

"I thought I'd ask nicely, but my scientists do so enjoy their work." Angel replied.

Angel walked out of the cell and turned around, giving him a smile as if everything was all right again. "Things can go quite smoothly, if you cooperate. We'll be arriving at my home shortly. Get some sleep, if you can."

The battlecruiser continued at warp speed to her headquarters, and Angel made her way back to the bridge. "Status. Anything on subspace emergency channels?"  
"Nothing yet, Mistress," a comm officer replied. "All Starfleet channels we're monitoring are still clear."  
"Continue to monitor. Tactical, any warp signatures following?"  
"At present speed, we can only detect vessels at short range. Those scopes are clear."  
"Very well. Prepare to drop out of warp, and perform a long range scan," ordered Angel. "Then alter course, and re-engage warp engines."

-/\-

A pair of Vereleus class Warbirds made an agressive turn towards the Pretoria. But luckily the ships did not have weapons armed.

**Bridge - USS Pretoria**  
Just the scene for these 2 ships on the viewscreen reminded Stryker of terrible memories. "Avatar of Tomed and the Avenger" Belldandy told him.

"On screen." Stryker ordered.

A Romulan male, vaguely 90 years of age appeared on screen. "Captain Rakurai Stryker. I am Commander Arlieen Tayva."

"You are atleast fifteen days from your border Commander." Stryker reminded him. "What is your business here ?"

/\ "A dangerous criminal that escaped the Romulan Star Empire. Seems she's been here on Risa."

"The Orion shootout from 2 days ago ?" Ensign Liz wondered outloud.

/\ "Orions ? Well, I guess she is amassing power."

"Wait !" Stryker said, somewhat confused. "Who is she ?"

**20 minutes later - Observation lounge**  
Commander Arlieen Tayva's First Officer handed out PADDs with addiational information.

If Stryker was reading Arlieen Tayva's body lauguage correctly, the man was felt ashamed. _Why ?_ Stryker wondered.

"The following information requires a Clearance of Level 9. No one but the Captain is authorized to know this." Commander Arlieen Tayva said.

"You Obviously screwed up. Unleased something on the Alpha Quadrant that is not under your control." Stryker said, secretly amused.

Tayva was furious. But after a second or two recomposed himself. "The White Angel project was designed to create an artificial life form, to be modeled after Starfleet's Lt.-Cmdr Data. The prototype, Angel's purpose to sabotage, espionage, and intelligence gathering. Soon after activation, her program cascaded and developed emotional mimicking capabilities at an exponential rate. The purpose of the program was to imitate self-awareness, but it worked to well. Unit One killed her creators and destroyed most of the lab along with all information about the project before escaping."

"You created her." Doctor Karen noted.

"Yes. I was on a team of 33 sciencists. And the only one not present when she was activated." Tayva admitted.

"Why is she so dangerous ?" Liz asked.

"Angel does not have any ethical or moral limitations. She likes to toy with people, especially men, and has no respect for life. She is programmed to be an infiltration unit, complete with various combat skills. In trials, she preferred using her hands to kill. Angel Unit 1 also has a vast knowledge of just about any kind of information."

"You have a kill switch to deactivate her ?" Stryker inquired.

"Yes, but to use it we have to be within 25 meters of the unit."

Stryker signed softly. His duty was clear though. "Commander. We need to search this Risa system. All 3 ships in a tight search pattern. Based on the fact she is building a power base means she proberly took over a small or weakened Orion Syndicate. But you built her. We should expect surprises, and a game of cat and mouse if we find her."

The 2 Romulan commanders agreed with him.

"Let's go!"


	3. Final Chapter

Two Vereleus class Warbirds and the Pretoria flew side by side, at Warp 9.75. The trio passed the Orion border, 2 hours ago.

**Rakurai Stryker - Main Bridge**

Red lights flashed off the ceiling. 

Four decks below the bridge, Tactical Cartography was a hive of activity. Nine Starfleet officers were joined by Seven Romulans as the hunt for Angel continued into its 16th hour. The bridge received a feed in Real Time of their analysis. The Pretoria tactical officer, Belldandy was linked up with her Romulan counterparts with orders to fire at will.

On the viewscreen was a map of the sector, noting planets, spacial anomolies, and known borders of the different Orion Syndicates. Three White triangles moved silently across the viewscreen, searching.

Suddenly one of triangles turned red. Captain Stryker got up from his seat, hiding a sly grin. _Here kitty, kitty, kitty !_

-/\-

**Main Bridge - USS Pretoria **

Kretak stood at the science panel onboard the bridge of the USS Pretoria and the red light flashed above him. He watched the Captain and was debating if he should bring up the subject in his mind.

_The Romulans building an android. I never knew they advanced that far, but they still cannot be trusted. _Kretak thought. he looked down at the panel and then decided to speak.

"Captain, I wish to warn you about the Romulans." Kretak said.

Styker turned in his chair to face the Gorn and waited expectantly.

Kretak took a breath and started. "The Romulan Star Empire and the Gorn Confederation have been fighting for years and we have learned much about their thought process. We have discovered that 90 of the things the Romulans say are lies or half-truths. The Romulans NEVER tell ALL the truth, Sir."

-/\-

**Angel**

Angel had the Admiral beamed down to her fortress location on Indri 3. Without unnecessary delay, she had him hooked up to an old Romulan brain scrubbing device.  
"I have no time for interrogations, refusals, torture, more refusals, more torture, blah blah blah. So, I've decided on a more technical approach. Yes, this will be absolutely excruciating for you, dear," said Angel. "The good news is, I only want certain information about your time with Commander Data, so your mind should be relatively functional at the end. Won't that be nice?"  
Angel nodded to her people to hook Harkness up to the machine, and directed them to proceed. She left the chamber then, and went to check on other projects.

She considered herself superior to Data in almost every way. While he was built as a curiosity, she was built as a weapon. Technically, she was better. Certainly, she thought she had the looks.  
However, the Romulans lacked a certain finesse when it came to technical design. Although she didn't consider herself 'related' to the captured mind-scrubbing machine, it was sort of true. Eventually, without upgrades, she would be obsolete over time. And, if the Tal Shiar ever made it a priority to find and destroy her, they would eventually succeed.

But with information about Data's longevity codes and positronic self initiated upgrade system, Angel could have that final piece of the puzzle that would let her live forever.  
After all. What fun would the Galaxy be without her around?

There were other matters too. Angel was in the process of driving out almost all the Orion syndicates. The Kavak clan had to go, but she decided she might as well do away with all of them. Then, the Ferengi. And in time, her own small empire would grow, and become a major threat to the Galaxy. IT would take time, but she had time. 

And, she had several (what she considered) brilliant plans. Currently, she had been staring work on several sneaky and very deadly plagues that would be released on Federation, Klingon, and Romulan worlds. It would kills billions of organic life. Oh, they'd probably find a cure, but the damage would be done. Angel could even work it to blame other Galactic governments and hopefully start a war. That would be lovely!

Then there was the planetary core bomb. Angel had a scientific curiosity to see what it would be like to obliterate and entire planet. To that end, she created a massive antimatter bomb that could in theory be beamed into a planet's core and detonated, causing mass chaos and eventual destruction. It required a powerful transporter, and she still had several bugs to work out.

Then there was the trilithium bomb that would destroy a star. Crude, but effective.

As Angel walked to the special projects lab, she downloaded current reports on her fleet development. She had tasked her best teams with capturing starships and brining them to her base.

Cain ran up to her as she walked. "Um, Angel, a word please?"  
She sighed and looked over to him. He said, "That mind device thing is an antique. From what I gathered, it was only marginally successful even when it was new. If Harkness is in there too long it could kill him."  
"Maybe. I'll just get a new Admiral."  
"Angel," warned Cain, "This is serious. We went to a lot of work getting this man. I just think we should proceed more cautiously."  
"Cain, the Galaxy belongs to the bold!" she said with a grin. "He'll be fine."  
"The device was used more for torture than for getting information," said Cain.  
Angel said, "Hmm. Tell you what. If we go back there and we have no information and his brain is goo, I owe you a Coke.

-/\-

**9 hours later**  
Glen was semi-coherent. Someone stuck a hypospray in his neck. Stuck in an altered state, he was vaguely aware of being moved from one room to another. He then started quivering uncontrollably.

One of the senior medical techs noticed, her tricorder told her, his blood pressure was plummeting, "He's in shock. That idiot Nemaik overdosed the Admiral. Redirect to the infirmary. High priority."

**5 hours later (present time)**  
Glen's first sensations were of a cold, numb, nerveless lump of meat that he somehow knew to be his body. Light shone on him, very strong, but he couldn't even squeeze his eyes more tightly closed, let alone move an arm to shield them.

Indeterminable time passed. Shadows moved across the light from time to time.

Then came the pins and needles, merely uncomfortable at first, but they quickly grew in strength all over his body until it was closer to pain. The prickling of Glen's skin surged, becoming like splinters all over his body.

Instinct would have had him rolling, massaging the blood starved tissues, forcing some sensation upon them beyond the sharp waves. At the least, he would have gasped or groaned, but Glen couldn't do any of it. He could feel himself breathing, but could not control it, could not make any sound.

Then the pins and needles started fading, but not nearly fast enough. He opened his eyes, but the light was too bright and they closed again involuntarily. He become aware of something holding his head and neck securely, leaving him staring at the brown ceiling and six high power lights.

His body strength regained, he fought against the restraints with all his strength. He realized he was on a table with devices of some kind on his temples. "What are you doing ?" he shouted.

"Finally." someone muttered. "I am glad you are awake."

"I prefer my patients to be awake for the procedure." said the voice. A Romulan male walked over and looked Glen in the eyes, "You might call what I am going to do, a mind probe."

"But I prefer to call it by another . . . more descriptive term." Nei explained as he activated the device.

An enormous bellow of pain escaped from Glen. He tried to arch his spine, his head slumped back. His eyes were wide from the burning pain in his mind, it felt like every pain nerve lit up. He tried to catch a breath and swallowed hard as his eyes glazed over. "Living hell." Nei said with a smile.

Angel nodded at Nei. "Stop toying with him." Cain told Nei, "Throw the switch! Admiral. Quit while you're... oh, never mind."

Nei shambled up to the pillar and lowered a switch in its base. Nei pressed on his control panel, making a larger panel behind it light up with blinking, flashing squares of colour.

Glen screamed. A line of ones and zeroes replaced the first column of flashing squares on Cain's station. The top number is 89. On the top row, a red square flashed green. Glen screamed more, and closed his eyes as if trying to resist.

Three digits are decoded on the second column, then they stopped. Angel nodded at Cain, then looked back at Glen. Cain pressed a blue button. The electricity stopped. Moaning, Glen's head sank slightly.

"Come now, Glen. Spare yourself the pain." Angel mused.

He whispering weakly, "I-I will fight you to the last."

"Fight all you want, you old fool." Angel laughed softly. "You're merely delaying the inevitable."

Angel nodded at Cain again. Cain pressed a red button. Glen screamed louder this time. Then his cries were weakening.

"Phase one is complete, mistress!" Nei said happily.

Glen was crying out again as electricity from the probes shocked him. Ones and zeroes appeared on the first column of the right side of the display from bottom to top, adding up to the number 68, and the light at the top flashed green. 

Angel looked at Glen's head, which is not being electrified for the moment. Glen said weakly, "You...will... never... win..."

A square of numbers and information scrolled on the lab's monitors. Memories.  
Design specs of the Excelsior and Ambassador class. Several Prototypes considered in the 2350s.

Another memory. Admiral Glen Harkness was giving a presention, "Soong created a total of seven androids, although only the last four had fully functional positionic brains. The first six Soong-type androids were built as images of Dr. Soong, albeit with pale skin and yellow eyes. No other individual since has been able to replicate Soong's accomplishment."

Angel was pleased with the information and ordered that the mind probe's output level be adjusted to maximum power. Glen's body and face painfully contorted. His mouth was open wide, and an endless scream emerged, filling the room with the sounds of his suffering. After a minute of torment, he fainted, mercifully blinded from the pain as his nerves become numb from the sensory overload.

-/\-

**Main Bridge - USS Pretoria**

"Captain, I wish to warn you about the Romulans." Kretak said.

Styker turned in his chair to face the Gorn and waited expectantly.

Kretak took a breath and started. "The Romulan Star Empire and the Gorn Confederation have been fighting for years and we have learned much about their thought process. We have discovered that 90 of the things the Romulans say are lies or half-truths. The Romulans NEVER tell ALL the truth, Sir."

That caused Captain Stryker to have a flashback.

**USS Aurora headed towards Federation space at warp seven. The Akira class, USS Thunderchild due rendezvous with the Aurora in about 45 minutes just in case of Ferengi marauder vessel manages to pursue.**

Cadet Stryker refused to go to sickbay, even though his face was badly beaten and injuries to his back from a 7 meter fall onto a metal catwalk. Commander Ciro Ramirez looked at the stubborn cadet and smiled as Stryker entered the bridge. Counselor Fumie arrived on the same turbolift car and took his seat next to the captain.

Stryker barely managed to sit at his workstation when tactical and helm consoles warned them of an error. The mysterious malfunction may present a danger to the crew, causing the computer to activate yellow alert. "What is going on ?"

The bridge personnel exchanged confused glances with each other. She tapped her combadge, "Bridge to engineering, what the hell is going on ?" Captain Marjean Holden demanded.

The Bajoran Chief Engineer was panicking, "Everything is operating as it should captain. No, WAIT !"

The bridge crew collectively held their breaths, waiting in suspense. Shaedal Tierney was getting a bad feeling about this. "Subspace density is increasing, highly localized."

The ship shook. "What was that ?" Holden and Ramirez asked simultaneously.

"It might be a tractor beam of some kind sir." Perl announced.

The helm console beeped, three icons representing danger appeared. "Captain, we are losing speed," Stryker informed his commanding officer. "The warp core is overheating. Two thousand degrees Celcius over the norm and rising."

"Battlestations !" she ordered. The red alert klaxon wailed three times. "Drop to impulse."

Stryker dropped the Aurora to sublight speed, one half impulse as per standard procedure. Various console around the bridge suddenly started beeping, warning of a threat. A second later, Lieutenant Throm's eyes grew wide in shock. "Warbird decloaking, directly astern. They are charging weapons !"

Holden cursed, "Merde !"

Cadet Stryker's body released an incredible amount of adrenaline as he looked at the ship on sensors. Barely eighty meters away, "They are practically sitting on our hull." he said outloud.

The reverse angle on the viewscreen was filled with a close-up image of a Romulan Warbird. Under different circumstances Stryker loved looking at the majestic dark green hull and its graceful shape, but right now he was staring in disbelief at the green light emanating from its massive nose-mounted disruptor cannon. And rightfully, frightened.

He remembered his tactical teacher at Starfleet Academy, Commander Key's exact words, "Romulan vessels have descent, well-built hulls and strong shields. Their ships rely upon stealth, the element of surprise attack and the ability to cripple or destroy nearly any unlucky opponent on the first strike."

"Ship to ship." Ciro barked.

"Hailing freqencies open sir." Ensign Newkirk replied from OPS.

"Captain Marjean Holden to Romulan vessel."

The ship rocked once, hit by a short burst of disruptor fire. "Transfer phaser power to the shields. Helm, evasives."

"Aye sir." the ensign and cadet echoed.

With fear in his voice, Lt. Throm called out, "Sir, two type-B warbirds decloaking directly port and starboard, triangulating on our position."

"They are trying to run us down." Ciro said to the captain.

"Cease fire, we are not your enemy." Holden pleaded via the subspace com-link.

"No response sir."

"Ensign Perl, send a priority one distress signal."

"Aye aye."

Another direct hit. And another. Stryker wouldn't keep the ship out of harm's way. It is simply impossible for an Excelsior class ship to engage and defeat one Romulan cruiser. No single Federation starship in existence stands a chance against three Warbirds. Going to warp was not the best possible idea as their opponents can effortlessly outperform the aging Federation vessel.

"Captain !" Throm bellowed. "Four torpedoes from opposite directions. We'll be caught in the crossfire !"

"Auxiliary power to shields." Ciro ordered. He then tapped his combadge twice to activate ship-wide. "Attention all hands. Damage control teams stand ready. Brace for impact !"

Sparks flew from the back wall of the bridge, the EPS conduit exploded. Throm flew backwards from the blow, and slammed into the back of the counselor's chair. The force of his velocity caused the chair to snap, and it toppled to the ground with Luitenant Fumie in it. The Diasoman and Bajoran was down for the count. Purple blood flowing a hairline fracture, covered Throm's fine golden feathery head crest.

Perl manually activated the fire suppression system. Ensign Enig Bardley rerouted the tactical station's functions to OPS. Ciro tapped his combadge, "Bridge to any transporter room. Medical emergency on the bridge! Two casualties !"

Throm was coming around, but he was having some trouble breathing, the back of his uniform was burnt. "No response from our hails sir." Newkirk reported. Throm and Fumie dematerialized in transporter haze.

The deck shook, "Shields at 46 "

"Long range comminications is down." Ensign Perl reported from her engineering console.

The deck shook again. Lieutenant Xanatos jumped out of the way when a light fixture fell from the roof, the smell of burning isolinear wire was everywhere and smoke started filling the bridge. "Shields at 30 , moderate damage to secondary hull, casualties on all decks." Bardley reported.

The ship rocked again tossing anyone around. Bardley's tactical display fizzed and popped. He wasn't in the mood for this. He gave the display a sharp thump with a balled fist. It whined in protest, then cleared. "Better," he muttered. Stryker chuckled softly to himself.

The lights flickered uncertainly for a moment, but held. Stryker realized life support must be damaged as the tempature on the bridge suddenly increased. "Sir, fire suppression is not responding." Perl reported.

"Aft shields are offline." Bardley announced, moments before two torpedoes struck the port side of the engine room and a several bulkheads blew out. The deck shook terribily, followed by a horrible explosion from the lower decks.

On every other deck of the ship, in a chain reaction, conduits ruptured, and people went flying all over the place. The entire bridge crew was thrown forward and many concussions resulted from the impacts. Everyone returned to their posts immediatly.

"What was that ?" The captain voice was surprisingly fierce to Stryker's ears and he flinched.

The Aurora was now visibly wounded, green disruptor bolts burrowing deep into her hull, leaving vicious scars on the surface. The bridge's lights went out.

A chirping voice was heard on the bridge, "Emergency power engaged." the monotone of the female Computer voice announced as pale yellow lights activated.

Stryker tapped his readout screens, which flickered erratically in the drab emergency lighting. Almost every display on his console flashed an angry red, indicating critical damage across all systems. "Computer, reverse angle on the viewscreen." Ciro commanded. The viewscreen changed to a view back over the spine of the Aurora.

The remains of the starboard warp nacelle was spiraling off into space as fires and small explosions run up and down along the strut. The bridge crew shared a collective gasp of disbelief. Holden was horrified, "Oh, my God ..."

"Readings show a primary hull breach in Engineering. Forcefields are not responding." Perl said in a choked voice.

Stryker keyed in another manoeuver, his console flashed a message at him, ENGINES OFFLINE. "We lost engines," Stryker announced mournfully.

Ciro tapped his combadge, "Bridge to Engineering, Shaedal respond !"

Static played for a moment. Ciro avoided looking at the captain. "Bridge to Engineering. Any engineer, report !"

The bridge's lights flickered while debris covered the floor. Smoke was thick, the science consoles was on fire. The floor shook again as another disruptor burst impacted on the upper decks of the saucer section. "Warning! Structural Intregrity failure immanent. Decompression danger. Decompression danger." the computer voice announced, oblivious to the chaos.

Holden stood up and realized she has been defeated. For the first time ever, the first time in her 33 years as captain, defeat has been handed to her. She punched an access code into her seat's console. A ship wide announcement whistle sounded. "Attention all hands. This is the captain."

She was about to say the eight words that no commanding officer ever wants to utter. Most captains are fortunate enough to never find themselves in this sitation. But somehow, she found the strength. Speaking clearly and louder than usual, "Abandon ship. All hands to the escape pods."

Blue strip lights lit up around the bridge and on every deck, the evacation sound repeated itself every three seconds. Ciro looked at something on his private console. "Sir, we don't have enough time to evacute."

Holden nodded in despair, "Bardley, hail the Romulans again !"

"Yes sir !"

Its a long shot, but the only one available, the last desperate attempt to save 581 lives.

Holden gambled on a slim change that she can save the lives of her crew by leaving the matter up to diplomats. She steeled herself, "Captain Holden to Romulan vessels. We unconditionally surrender. I repeat, We unconditionally surrender !" 

Stryker recollected his thoughts, "Thank you Ensign. Sometimes it is easy to forget."

A few seconds later, Stryker asked for an ETA.

"Ten minutes sir." was the reply.

-/\-

**Main Bridge - USS Pretoria**

The 2 Romulan warships and the Pretoria approached the Indri system when they were met by two Orion Salvage Cruisers, a Heavy Destroyer and 4 Light Raiders. They battled their weaker opponents and started destroying the Orion vessels, but not before the Romulan vessel, Avatar of Tomed was crippled and destroyed.

The battle was over within 12 minutes.

"Status ?" Stryker demanded.

"Shields at 40 . Minor damage to hull." Belldandy answered.

Stryker prepared for a ground assault. 8 teams of 4 security officers plus a medic.

/\ "Bridge to Sickbay. I need your best staff, 7 in total plus you. Report to Transporter Rooms 3 through 10, one medic per room. I'll meet you in transporter room 2."

"Sir !" Cadet Kira Tierney called out.

"What is it ?" Stryker asked, annoyed.

"There is a feedback loop of some kind. Transporters are not safe to use."

"Romulan tricks" Stryker snarled.

**27 minutes later - Surface of Indri 3**  
Stryker rematerialized along with his team, flanked by 7 other teams.

They were greeted by the scent of blood, hot flesh and death. Disruptor burn marks all over the place. About 400 Romulan bodies plus another 400 or so Orions and other species. Evidence of mortars and missiles was used against the Fortress

Nearby Romulan Commander Arlieen Tayva was dying. He tried to reach out to Stryker, "Kill s----"

Doctor Karen scanned him and shook her head. Stryker noticed a purple coloured device in the Romulan Commander's hand. He took it and motioned for the teams towards the fortress. "No lifesigns other than us." Doctor Karen told Stryker.

-/\-

**USS Pretoria  
Sickbay, CMO's Office  
The night before**

Alpha shift: that graveyard stillness between night and the new day's dawn. Throughout the ship, crewmembers went about their tasks with a certain lethargy, just about all the department chiefs had gone off-duty, and most of the non-essential sections were all but deserted, perhaps manned by one crewmember with a good novel and six hours to kill.

Karen leaned back in her chair with a yawn, rubbing at tired, sore eyes. A massive pile of PADDs sat in front of her, containing all the technical data the Romulans had forwarded about their escaped android. She'd been reviewing that information for over eight hours straight now, trying to figure out where the creature's weaknesses lay - and what to expect if it ran afoul of Pretoria or her Romulan escorts.

Absorbed in her reading, she didn't hear the door chime, nor see the dark head that poked its way through the door. "It's 2330. Do you know where your girlfriend is?"

"Hmm?" she said, looking up to see Alexandra Maxwell framed in the doorway. The willowy, olive-skinned brunette was leaning against the door frame with her arms folded and a look of amused disbelief on her face. The smile that spread across Karen's features was the first real smile she'd worn all day. "Hi, Alex. What are you doing down here?"

"Actually, that's what I meant to ask you," Alex replied. "Dinner, Dot's, 1900 - any of this ringing a bell?"

"Oh, _shit...!_ Alex, I am so sorry. I completely forgot..."

"S'okay. The computer said you were still here, so I figured you either had stuff to do or got busy with patients." Alex walked around the desk and leaned over Karen's shoulder to see what she'd been reading. "What _is_ that you're working on, anyway? Looks like something from my department...?"

"You're partially right - it's specs for a Romulan assassin android," Karen replied. "The Romulans asked for our help in hunting it down. Turns out it escaped from a top-secret research facility, destroyed the place and killed all the staff in the process, and it's been working within the Orion organized-crime syndicates to build itself a power structure. All that mess on Risa with the dead admiral? They're pretty sure this thing was behind it."

The engineer blinked once, twice. "Holy..."

"At any rate, it does have a significant amount of organic components, so the Captain asked me to look for a way to disable it. Besides, given how intelligent this thing is supposed to be, I'm worried that it'll try to pull something nasty on us, and I want to be prepared for whatever that might be..."

"I understand, Ker, but you're not gonna solve it tonight." Alex smiled fondly at her. "C'mon, I'm taking you home."

/\

"You want a beer or anything?" Alex asked, standing in front of the replicator in the CMO's quarters.

"Orange juice, please - I'm on call. You go ahead, though."

A few moments later, Alex returned with two glasses, and they settled themselves on the couch. "You really had a day, didn't you?" she said softly, reaching over to wrap one arm around the exhausted physician.

Karen leaned into the embrace, resting her head against Alex's shoulder, feeling the tensions of the day begin to dissolve. "Did I ever."

"Is it hush-hush doctor stuff, or do you want to talk about it?"

"Most of it's just 'same garbage, different day.' The bit with the android is really bothering me, though." Karen's expression clouded over. "Suffice to say that I don't much care for the Romulans or their way of handling their affairs. There's some bad past history there... Anyway, I can't shake the feeling that there's more the Rommies aren't telling us, and that whatever they're hiding is going to come back and seriously bite our asses."

"That's understandable."

"So, other than getting stood up, how was your day?"

"Ha ha. Staff meeting this morning was a total Monday-morning quarterbacking session. We're still running overtime to finish the repairs and refits we didn't get to before we left Starbase, and people are starting to bitch about that. Couple of idiots in Stellar Cartography decided they couldn't wait for the refit team, tried to amp up their EPS tap by themselves and managed to short out power to most of the deck, which was a real treat to fix..."

Alex trailed off mid-sentence as a sound caught her attention. A few seconds later, there it was again - a slow, deep intake of air, not quite loud enough to be charitably called a snore.

Placing a gentle kiss atop the sleeping physician's head, she lay back and closed her eyes, drifting off herself moments later.

**0447 hours**

_"Sickbay to Dr. Coleridge..."_

"Wha... mmph. Yeah, 'm here. Go 'head."

_"Doctor, we have a priority call from the Bridge for a combat medic team. They specifically requested to talk to you."_

_Oh cripes, here we go,_ Karen thought. "Go ahead and patch 'em through." She waited to hear the chime indicating a three-way connection before speaking again. "Hi, this is Dr. Coleridge. What do you need?"

_"I need your best staff, 7 in total plus you. Report to Transporter Rooms 3 through 10, one medic per room. I'll meet you in Transporter Room 2."_

"Understood, we'll be there in about ten minutes." She spoke with the desk nurse for a few minutes before closing the connection.

"You gotta go?" a sleepy voice said in her ear.

"Yeah. Go back to sleep, honey. I'll call you when we get back." Being careful not to disturb her, Karen stood up and headed for the bathroom, took a fast shower and changed into combat blacks. Grabbing her helmet and vest, her medkit slung over one shoulder, she headed out the door at a run.

-/\-

**Surface of Indri III  
Present time**

The moment the team rematerialized on the planet's surface, Karen felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. It wasn't the tableau of death and destruction that bothered her; she'd seen far worse far too many times. It was the wanton manner of the destruction, the telltale signs of a being that not only was trained to kill, but reveled in it. There was a distinct feel of evil in the air, and every instinct in her body was screaming to beam away from here and leave this miniature hell far, far behind.

Instead, she calmly took out her tricorder and began scanning for survivors. None appeared. Every body she scanned was very recently dead, most of primary blast trauma or disruptor trauma to the head or torso, many shot in the back. She knelt next to one corpse and switched the tricorder into detailed scan mode. This victim's chest had been completely obliterated by the blast, but the palms of the hands and the antecubital skin surfaces were charred from residual disruptor effects, and there were no defensive wounds. _He had his hands up when he was shot. These people were trying to surrender, and it killed them anyway,_ she thought, fighting hard to keep her stomach under control.

A few meters away, Captain Stryker waved her over to one of the bodies, which, miraculously, was still alive. "Kill s..." Commander Tayva gasped, proffering a small purple device to Stryker. A moment later, the Romulan officer coughed, choked and then lay still, staring blankly into the unknown.

The tricorder's tiny screen told the tale: asystole, respiratory arrest, the beginnings of decerebration. _Game over. Drive home safely._ Karen looked at Stryker, shook her head silently, and then leaned over to close the dead man's eyes.

"Sir, there's no other lifesigns here except ours," she said quietly.

-/\-

**Indri III**  
**Hidden underground complex**

Liz Archer looked around in the interior of the underground complex. As she walked through the corridors, she couldn't help feeling like being inside a Borg cube, an experience she didn't want to experience again. A human male came toward her and she went along with her role-play. He walked past her and she noticed that he looked quite bitter. _Tough day? Well, working with a creature like Angel I would look like you too._ Her whole body stiffens when she heard his voice behind her.

"Hey you, where do you think you are going?

She turns around and looks at him like she doesn't like to be disturbed. She replies.

"Who, me?

"Yes, you! Angel doesn't wants to be disturbed. "Chain answers with an annoyed voice.

Liz looks straight up to his face and replies with a coolness in her voice.

"Look, I don't know what Angel said to you. But I have orders to deliver this to her immediately. And I attend to do my orders."

Chain looks doubtfully at the black bag that Liz had in her left hand. He inspects her for a few minutes before he says.

"You are new here? " Liz shows an irritated look.

She replies. "Not that new...Look, I really have to be going now. Unlike some people I like to do my job in time, without getting stoped and beeing questioned everytime. "

He continues. "What do you have in the bag?"

Liz sights deeply and says. "Why don't you follow me to Angel and see for yourself."She brings her other hand in a gesture and continues. "Shall we...?"

Liz starts to walk and shows openly that she doesn't care about his answer. When she hear him moving after her she smiled openly for a short moment. _Like catching a fish!._, she thinks to herself. The moves into the next corridor Liz leans her head back and says with a warning tone.

"I hope that you will explain to Angel the reason why I am so late. " Chain opened his mouth to answer but in stead you could hear a shriek of surprise. Mike, who had been hiding, attacked him and stunned him in a movement. Chains body fell down to the floor. Liz turns around and leans over the body.

"What took you so long?"

Mike shrugged his shoulder and said quietly. "I wanted to see you in action."

Liz gave him an angry look and said as she put a device on Cains arms.

"Didn't you see enough of action from me on Risa!"

Liz tabs her hidden COM badge.

"_Bird is capture and is waiting to be set free. _"

Mike had a funny expression on his face, he said. "Couldn't they have found a better password?"

Liz didn't take notice to his comment. Right a head she looked as Chain's body disappeared. Liz said. 

"Let's hope that know one noticed the transport and that Karen succeed with transforming Stryker in to Chain. I don't know what you think, but this operation is a bit risky for my taste. "

Mike looks around the area as she says. "Desperate situation needs desperate measurement. " He takes another look around the area. "So, step one is complete. Let's us prepare step two as fast as we can. Time is running out. "

"You are right. Come let's get moving. " Liz whisper as they move along the corridor.

-/\-

**USS Pretoria, sickbay  
**  
Karen takes a deep breath and claps her hands together.

"Considering the lack of time I think I did a good job. Here take a look!" Karen reaches for a mirror and gives it to her patient.

The man on the bio bed takes the mirror and hesitates before he takes a look. Alice takes her hand to her husbands shoulder and watches her husbands respond the change. Alice says quietly.

"I agree, you really looks like Chain. " She cast a look at the sleeping figure of Chain behind the force field on the other side of the room. She continues. "I don't understand how you did it. But you really did succeed. Stryker you look human…"

"Good job, Karen. " Stryker rises from the bed in a jump. He turns to Alice and asks.  
Have you heard anything from our away team?" Alice, who still looks to be in a chock, shakes her head and says.

"Not a word from Liz Archer and Mike Anderson. But our second team is on place as decided. "

Stryker raises his eyebrows as he gets dressed in a replica Chain's clothes.

"Let's hope that they didn't get capture and are just delayed. Angel is not known to be kind to imposters."

-/\-

**Bridge - USS Pretoria **

Kretak stood at his science panel and his stomach had turned sick as he processed the tri-corder images from the landing party on Indri III. Even if it was his race's enemy laying on the ground as if they had been hit by a tornado, it still sickened him in the condition that they were left in.

_"I hate them, but they didn't half to die that way."_ he thought as he started spectral readings.

Kretak finished the report and then approached Styker to hand him the PADD. "Sir, the tri-corder readings show that there was a massive fight in the area scanned. I have been able to pinpoint both Romulan Disruptors and Orion Disruptors. their's just one thing...The spectral analysis shows that there have been other weapons fired, they aren't prominent, but I there. I cannot identify the user."

-/\-

**Indri III  
Hidden underground complex**

Stryker/Chain Stryker found himself standing in a confusing and intricate maze as thick, steel catwalks ran across to a gigantic central chimney, suspended about one hundred meters above the ground. A simple railing, barely a meter and a half high ran along the sides. A large metallic dome covering the entire complex. The rusty looking catwalk reminded Stryker of Kitsilano 12's dark, dismal service tunnels, largely unused, that run under and through the oldest and poorest parts of the cities.

Liz, Karen and Stryker walked through the corridors, phasers drawn and ready, side by side and back to back. A compact and highly effective unit. Stryker led them and Liz watched their backs.

Walking down another flight of stairs, Stryker stopped, standing in the open entrance of a small room. He felt a nervous, almost tangible energy in his gut, and it spread eagerly as he examined the room. The tiled floor was slick with some liquid spilled from broken metal coils that dangled from the high-vaulted walls and ceiling. A shredded skin of tubing sprawled across the floor, and all around them there were bits of soft multi-coloured matter.

"Watch your heads," Karen whispered as the team crept through the maze of piping in Angel's compound. Even though she was the shortest person there, she'd already had to duck a few times, and the need for caution took on added urgency with the number of pipes stamped with the "biohazard" or "hazardous chemical" symbols. "Especially you, Captain - that face was too much work for you to wreck it..."

_Too late._ A dull "thunk" and a muttered curse was the only reply.

"It's OK, Doctor," Liz whispered back. "He didn't break the skin."

Stryker turned around with a frown. "Enough chatter. Keep moving."

They continued moving through the complex, a trio of heavily armed shadows. Stryker, in costume as Chain, carried a disruptor pistol, while Liz and Karen both wore chameleon suits over body armor and carried compression rifles. In addition, Stryker carried the Romulan kill switch, Liz had a half-dozen photon grenades and Karen carried both her medkit and the foray gun. That weapon rode in a specially designed holster, along with a dozen extra shells marked with red and green stripes - the "last resort" weapon Stryker had asked her to design. 

The catwalk opened into a flight of stairs and a small room, and Stryker paused at the entrance. Destroyed equipment lay everywhere, and puddles of a viscous yellowish liquid sheened in the half-light. "Doctor, what is that?" Stryker asked.

Karen slung her rifle back over her shoulder and opened up her tricorder. A second later, the legend "Analysis Complete" appeared on the screen, along with a flashing hazard symbol and a materials safety monograph. "It's some kind of plasma coolant, sir. Don't anyone touch it."

Ahead a hundred meters or so stood a doorway into a second room, and they could see a female figure standing within, surrounded by bright bluish light. Stryker indicated "Stay back" with a wave of his hand.

Dropping to one knee, Karen flipped the phaser rifle's targeting piece into position, settling the reticle squarely on the android's torso. _I just hope that thing the Romulans gave him works as advertised..._

-/\-

"Starfleet is here!" said Cain. He saw Angel in a large chair, with several computer terminals attached to her head. Her eyes were closed, but said, "I know."

"First the Romulans, now…"

Angel opened her eyes. "I'll take care of it." He sat up, and ripped the cords off of her. "The fleet is deployed, yes?"  
"Yes."  
"And the other task I asked of you?"  
Cain nodded. "It's all taken care off. But why…?"

"Stop asking stupid questions!" shouted Angel. "Just do as I say, Cain. Now, go. I'll deal with the latest visitors."  
"Personally, I think you're crazy. I'm out of here." Cain left to depart on the last cloaked ship in Angel's fleet. Her organization had been dispersed. It was too bad after just getting set up, but her group was always mobile and hidden.

And anyway, she had gotten what she wanted from the Admiral.

The first group that had arrived had been Romulans, and that was a bad sign. If they had told the Federation all about her it put Angel at a slight disadvantage. But there was always a plan for everything. She had the Romulans brutally killed, which would put the Federation types who arrived next on edge.

Angel smiled, and activated several large antimatter self-destruct sequences. She input several fairly inspired lockout codes that would really challenge those who would even discover them.

She could track movement coming from the demolished protomatter sequencing room, and met the new intruders there. As the saw her they took aim. She smiled and held up a remote. "You didn't put too much thought into this, did you? Walking right into my home? And may I ask why? I haven't done anything to any of you. Not yet anyway. And if I see anyone's finger depress a trigger, I'll detonate plasma conduits in this room before any energy beams get to me."

Chain/Stryker were surprised by Angel walking up straight to them as they were about to make their move. The whole Chain-disguise idea was to get close enough to Angel to use the Kill Switch on _her_.

"Angel !" Chain said surprised.

Angel smiled and held up a remote. "You didn't put too much thought into this, did you? Walking right into my home? And may I ask why? I haven't done anything to any of you. Not yet anyway. And if I see anyone's finger depress a trigger, I'll detonate plasma conduits in this room before any energy beams get to me."

Chain/Stryker had his hands raised, as Liz, Mike and Dr. Karen had their weapons trained on him. "They surprised me."

"Idiot. I am not limited to humaniod standards of visual acuity. I can see right through your disguise. I can even know your blood type by looking at you." the andriod smiled. "Angel Blue."

Uncomforable silence passed between the two adversaries. Angel, "Oh and by the way: The Tal Shiar has DNA and blood samples of you Captain. How's the wife ?"

Stryker was more than mildly enraged now. He pulled out the Kill Switch remote, "Looks like we ourselves a little stand off here. A no-win situation."

"Indeed." Angel's mood seemed to turn sour. "Live and let live ?"

"We can not trust you." Stryker pointed out.

"I promise." Angel said. "Just once. And never again."

With that Angel dematerialized. Stryker, Liz, Karen and Mike dematerialized to the Pretoria. In orbit, the two opposing starships exchanged fire. Pretoria managed to do moderate damage to Angel's ship. But in the end, her ship was smaller and faster than Pretoria.

Stryker stood on the bridge, swearing he could hear Angel's laughter now. Stryker turned to Belldandy. "Advice Starfleet of our situation. Tell them I will contact them within the hour."

The End ?


End file.
